Stick Shifts, Safety Belts, Bucket Seats

So, on Friday, I got in to work and went to pick up the truck i was going to use to move some furniture to my new office.

And... lo and behold.. the truck was a stick shift!

I haven't driven stick in about 5 years, so i was a bit worried. I went to go ask if they had any other trucks. They called around and couldn't find any. I realized that i am going to have to deal with the stick shift problem eventually. No one was averse to me taking the car, so after a bit of deliberation, I just did it. After stalling 3 times due to forgetting about the emergency brake, I was off into LA traffic. I did not stall out at all on LA roads, so I was very proud. I guess stick shift is like riding a bike.. once you get back into it, you remember fast.

Much of the rest of the day consisted of fighting with the copier. At the end of the day I got to take the truck out to start to get familiar with more of the park. I had a lot of fun driving the stick shift on mountain roads.

On a side note though, the USFS seemed to think it would be a good idea to buy some 2 wheel drive trucks in an area with lots of muddy fire roads which gets substantial snow in the winter. Who the hell comes up with this stuff? Why would you buy a 2*2 truck in these mountains, ever? So ultimately, the problem isnt the stick shift, just the fact that some of the vehicles are not 4 wheel drive.

Yesterday I was down in torrance hanging out at a party with my friend Cambria... Anyone who knew me in High School finds this extremely strange because me and Cambria were basically arch enemies in high school.. we did NOT get along. But who the hell holds a 7 year grudge?? Besides, i don't blame someone for disliking me back then... haha. In any event, the party was a 'sausage fest' so there wasn't much meeting of new girls or anything... but sometimes it is fun just to hang out with a bunch of loud, drunk guys too.

I didn't get drunk. I had to drive.

Oh yeah... I have declared this weekend the start of 'Party Period 3'. Party period 1 was a really fun part of college and Party Period 2 was the time spent with Eli and the SCA's making music (and the cabin trip). It'll be fun.